March 25, 2008

Protecting IP in China

The USPTO is offering a two-day seminar on protecting intellectual property in China. The program is free and will take place April 2-3 in Houston, TX. So, throw your Chi-pod in your Louis Vuitton knock-off and skip down to the Lone Star State.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will host a free, two-day, seminar for businesses on April 2-3 in Houston, Texas, to help them learn about how to protect against intellectual property (IP) theft from China. China was the number one source of counterfeit products seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in 2007, accounting for 80 percent of all seizures.

This program is for any business that is concerned about protecting its markets from counterfeit and pirated goods from China. The USPTO China Road Shows offer presentations on protecting and enforcing patents, trade secrets, trademarks, and copyright in China as well as real-life experiences and practical tips from companies on the frontline of protecting their IP assets from theft from China. The seminar will open with a presentation on "China's 'Indigenous Innovation' Drive: What It Means for Business" and will feature speakers from both the United States and China. Highlights include protecting and enforcing trademarks and patents in China, developing an anti-piracy program, and drafting enforceable IP agreements. A supply chain panel will discuss strategies that businesses of any size may use to protect their supply chains from fake products. The program will close with a summary of "Lessons Learned" from protecting and enforcing IP in China.

New with USPTO China Road Show/Houston, Dr. Yang Guohua, Counselor for Intellectual Property, Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Washington, DC, will offer informal one-on-one consultations for businesses on protecting and enforcing their IP rights in China. These consultations are limited to participants attending the event and sign-up for these sessions will be handled on-site at the event.

This seminar is the latest in a series of two-day China IP events that the USPTO is hosting across the country to help educate businesses about the realities of piracy and counterfeiting - which cost the American economy approximately $250 billion annually. The seminar is free and open to all, but registration is required to attend. For more information and to register, go to http://www.signup4.net/public/ap.aspx?EID=IPAC41E&OID=110.